Vibratory furnace charging apparatuses

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for introducing a charge into a metal melting furnace, featuring a wheeled skip car supporting a springsuspended charge bucket provided with a vibrator and adapted to have the charge ingredients weighed externally of said skip car and bucket unit prior to being deposited therein, said skip car being designed to be mechanically elevated on inclined tracks to a position projecting into the furnace charging doorway where said car can be adjustably tilted to discharge the bucket contents into the furnace while simultaneously actuating the vibrator to impart a vibratory motion thereto promoting the evacuation of the charge under control with a minimum of force and reduced charge door size requirements.

United States Patent [191 Kaiser et al.

[ 1 Jan. 8, 1974 VIBRATORY FURNACE CHARGING APPARATUSES [75] Inventors: Francis T. Kaiser; Robert R.

Schanen, both of Port Washington, Wis.

[73] Assignee: Modern Equipment Company, Port Washington, Wis.

[22] Filed: Feb. 17, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 227,043

Primary ExaminerEvon C. Blunk Assistant ExaminerBruce 1-1. Stoner. Jr. Attorney-Arthur L. Morsell, Jr. et a1.

[ 5 7 ABSTRACT An apparatus for introducing a charge into a metal melting furnace, featuring a wheeled skip car supporting a spring-suspended charge bucket provided with a vibrator and adapted to have the charge ingredients weighed externally of said skip car and bucket unit prior to being deposited therein, said skip car being designed to be mechanically elevated on inclined tracks to a position projecting into the furnace charging doorway where said car can be adjustably tilted to discharge the bucket contents into the furnace while simultaneously actuating the vibrator to impart a vibratory motion thereto promoting the evacuation of the charge under control with a minimum of force and reduced charge door size requirements.

3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures wil lu VIBRATORY FURNACE CHARGING APPARATUSES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to devices for use in foundries to introduce a charge into a metal melting furnace, or cupola, and more particularly to a charging apparatus of the vibratory type permitting a substantially reduced sized door opening.

2. Description of the Prior Art The charging of blast furnaces and metal melting cupolas is normally accomplished by the use of side discharge or bottom drop buckets carried directly into the melting furnace proper by means of a skip, gantry or other conventional hoisting methods. With such conventional equipment the charged materials are either weighed within the bucket proper in the sequence of their desired discharge position or individually weighed prior to their transfer to the charge bucket.

While this method of charging has in general proved satisfactory from both a mechanical and metallurgical point of view, it does have certain shortcomings. For example, to obtain the required mechanical and metallurgical characteristics it is necessary to discharge the buckets while the latter are positioned within the eupola or melting furnace proper, which requires a large charging doorway or opening in the cupola wall to permit said relatively deep buckets and their supporting means to be inserted into the cupola proper. Inasmuch as it is not practical in most instances to open and close the charging opening after each charging operation, closure doors are not ordinarily included on a cupola, thereby providing a large, constantly open doorway which has many disadvantages as it relates to emission control. Due to present stringent air pollution control standards, for instance, it is essential to maintain the smallest possible charge door opening in order to provide corresponding reduced air infiltration volume and the improved ability to prevent emission of exhaust gases in the area of the door proper. Moreover, excess air infiltration at the cupola charge door increases the capacity requirements of subsequent pollution control equipment and due to dillution increases the difficulty in the burning of the exhaust gas combustibles.

A still further important shortcoming of conventional bottom-opening bucket-type chargers is that the charge material deposited in the cupola thereby is ordinarily dropped in a single hard compact mass which strikes the charge material already in the furnace with considerable force. This has a tendency not only to crush the coke, which is undesirable, but it compacts the charge material in the furnace and causes poor blast air distribution whereas vibratory feeder charging of the type featured in the present invention provides a looser stock for better perculation in the stock and better stock preheat for superior operating efficiency. In addition, in refractory lined cupolas the impact of said charge thereagainst caused by conventional bottom opening type chargers results in considerable abrasion and wear of the furnace lining, which necessitates the frequent repair or replacement of said refractory lining. This is both costly and result in unproductive down time of the furnace.

6 In an effort to eliminate the foregoing deficiencies of conventional charging buckets, but primarily to allow the use of minimum sized charge door openings, a

novel vibratory type charger was developed which is the subject matter of United States Pat. No. 3,087,633, granted on Apr. 30, 1963. The present invention isan improvement upon the vibratory cupola charging device disclosed in said prior patent.

While the vibratory charger disclosed in the above identified prior patent has proven to be a great advance in the foundry industry, the present invention features some new innovations and structural changes which substantially improve the performance of said earlier patented charger.

The original United States Pat. No. 3,087,633 covered a cupola feeder supported on compression springs and accordingly requiring a straight line track to prevent spillage and lateral deformation of said springs. Because of the problems of spillage and lateral deformation of the springs this design has never found wide spread application in the foundry industry. Accordingly, most feeder chargers installed during recent years consist of a separate charge bucket that is filled at ground level and hoisted to the discharge point. The bucket is then discharged external of the melting furnace, into a separate feeder permanently located directly at the charging door.

The improved vibratory charger comprising the present invention and hereinafter described overcomes the problems of the prior patented vibratory charger design by incorporating a five-sided box or bucket, rather than the conventional four-sided open trough type pan, thereby permitting the use of a vertical or even an S type track, said bucket being suspended by continuously tensioned coil springs, in lieu of conventional compression type springs which are subjected to damaging lateral stresses and can result in inadvertent spillage.

An additional improvement incorporated in the present invention is the effect of the curved back track used in controlling the discharge into the cupola. Not only does said track design provide an easy method for the adjustment of the discharge flow rate, but it is instrumental in reducing the vibratory power requirements and allows the use of smaller, less expensive vibratory elements to provide a given rate of feed.

The ability to incorporate a minimum sized charge door by use of the present invention is extremely important in its effect on the subsequent use of emission control equipment, as hereinabove mentioned. Although greater cupola thermal efficiency is a normal consequence of this reduced door opening, the primary benefits derived are as follows:

a. Reduction in the air infiltration rate through the charge door into the furnace proper, thereby reducing the total volume of gases handled by any subsequent gas emission control equipment involved;

b. Reduced infiltration of air allows for more efficient combustion of the cupola exhaust gas combustibles (CO) to preclude the discharge of noxious gases and thus satisfy anticipated as well as present governmental gaseous and emission codes; and

c. The reduced charge opening correspondingly reduces the problem of exhaust gas emission from the door area proper.

In said earlier patented vibrator charger the cart-like charge-carrying conveyance is maintained in a horizontal position during the discharge of its contents, and relies entirely on the vibratory mechanism to evacuate the charge and direct-the same into the cupola. It has been found, however, that the speed of the discharge operation can be increased with a decrease in power by pivoting the charge conveyance when it reaches the eupola charging opening, as in the present invention, and tilting the same so that the discharge of its contents is assisted by gravity, which substantially decreases the required time of the discharge cycle and promotes the efficiency of the operation. Means for automatically pivoting the skip car and associated charge bucket to a desired angle to accomplish said function are incorporated in the present invention, as will be hereinafter described.

A further innovation incorporated in the present charging apparatus is that it is no longer necessary to disengage and then reassemble a portion of the skip car frame in order to weigh the various charge ingredients each time they are deposited in said conveyance from the supply bins or hoppers, as is required in said prior patented vibratory charger, thereby providing an assembly which is simpler and less costly in design and construction than said prior apparatus, as well as speeding the loading operation.

In addition to the above-mentioned United States Pat. No. 3,087,633, other references include the following United States Pats.: No. 1,871,559; No. 2,773,610; No. 2,815,135; and No. 2,962,174.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION As hereinabove described, the present invention provides a novel vibratory-type furnace charging apparatus which is an improvement upon the charger disclosed in United States Pat. No. 3,087,633. Unlike said prior vibratory charger the present invention includes a unitary charge-carrying skip car and bucket assembly which is adjustably tiltable to a desired dumping angle during the discharge of its contents into the furnace, or cupola, thereby facilitating and speeding the discharge operation with a minimum sized power source, which is important from a practical design point of view, and especially in high-production foundry operations. Moreover, as mentioned, with the present invention the weighing of the charge constituents is done entirely externally of the skip car and it is unnecessary to temporarily disconnect and then reassemble the car frame during the weighing of the charge, which is not only time-consuming and inefficient, but requires a more complex and costly conveyance structure.

A further important feature of the present skip car and bucket assembly is that when it is tilted during the dumping operation the angle of inclination of said bucket can be adjusted, as described, thereby permitting the arrangement of the same to best accomplish, with a minimum of vibratory power, the efficient discharge of the particular charge materials carried therein.

An additional important feature of the present skip car is the bucket design proper. The five-sided design illustrated allows the bucket to be loaded without spilling while the skip car is maintained in its normal inclined position. This reduces spillage, reduces equipment maintenance and lessens the danger to operating personnel. In addition, by suspending the bucket below the skip car with suitable coil springs the load is always in direct tension eliminating all lateral forces and assuring complete stability regardless of the material distribution within the bucket proper.

A most important additional advantage of the vibratory-type charger comprising the present invention, as compared to conventional buckebtype chargers, is that with the present device a much smaller charging opening is required in the furnace wall, as hereinabove men tioned, thereby reducing the volume of infiltrated air entering the furnace through the door and reducing the gaseous load handled by any subsequent emission cleaning equipment while eliminating excess dilution of the combustibles present in the exhaust gases from the cupola or furnace. The reduced charge opening also decreases the problem of emission at the charging opening proper.

In addition to the foregoing, the present invention provides an improved vibratory-type furnace charger which is simple and reliable in operation, which is rugged and durable in construction, and which is otherwise particularly well suited for its intended purpose.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings, wherein there is shown one preferred embodiment of the present invention, and wherein the same reference numerals designate the same parts in all of the views:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the improved charging apparatus in operative association with a metal melting cupola;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the novel charging bucket unit featured in the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a front view of said bucket.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now more particularly to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the numeral 10 designates a metal melting cupola, there being an opening 11 in its wall above the melting area through which the charge ingredients can be introduced into said cupola. It will be observed that said doorway or opening 11 is substantially smaller in size than the charging openings in most conventional cupolas, thereby allowing considerably less heat loss during the melting operation as well as less infiltrated air volume, as will be more fully discussed hereinafter. In addition, in the illustrated form of the present invention the cupola, or melting furnace, 10 is preferably provided with so-called stack burners 33 adjacent said doorway opening 11 to promote the reduction of combustible exhaust gases, but this is not a critical feature of the present invention and the invention is not to be limited or confined in this respect.

The charging apparatus comprising the present invention includes a four-wheeled cart or so-called skip car 14 which is designed to travel on an inclined track 23 from a lower level loading area to an elevated discharge station, where the contents of a charge bucket 18 carried by said car are adapted to be discharged through the opening 11 into the cupola 10.

In accordance with the illustrated form of the present invention said skip car 14 includes a pair of forward wheels 15 and rearward wheels 16 designed to ride in the track 23, and permanently carried by said skip car in the aforementioned charge bucket 18 which is suspended below said skip car as illustrated by means of a plurality of coil springs 35 (FIGS. 2 and 3) which are under tension at all times. Said novel spring suspension system not only maintains said bucket 18 in a substantially horizontal position both during the loading of the same and during its travel up the inclined track 23, thereby eliminating lateral forces and minimizing spillage, but it also allows said bucket to freely vibrate when actuated by an electric, pneumatic, or mechanical vibrator during the discharge operation, as will be described. The suspension points of said bucket relative to the location of the skip car wheels is not critical, as they are primarily a function of desired weight distribution, but the center of gravity of the bucket and load must, at all times, be located between said suspension points.

As will be observed in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings, the novel charge bucket 18 featured in the present invention is equipped with a pair of coil springs 35 disposed on opposite sides thereof which are anchored by brackets 41 and suspended from hangers on the skip car (not shown) to provide the advantageous suspension system hereinabove described. Said bucket has a large open top 36, for easy filling, and a forwardly and upwardly inclined front wall 37 which is designed to facilitate the complete evacuation of its contents when said bucket is tilted to its discharge position. Said charging bucket 18 is also provided with a suitable vibratory drive assembly 38, and supplemental springs 39 and spring-retaining brackets 42, all as illustrated in said FIGS. 2 and 3.

The track 23 (FIG. 1) preferably comprises two spaced, parallel flanged rails within which the skip car wheels l5, l6 ride and which track extends from the lower level loading area upwardly at an angle to a point immediately adjacent the cupola charging doorway 11, said rails being supported by a suitable supporting framework. ln accordance with the present invention the upper end of said track 23 is provided with a stop member 25, and spaced a short distance from the cupola opening 11 is an upwardly projecting, curved track extension 24, the function of which is to permit the tilting of said wheeled skip car and bucket assembly to dump its contents, as will be more completely described below.

To accomplish the vibration of the spring-suspended charge bucket 18 utilized in the present invention said bucket may be provided with one or more integral pneumatic vibrators, such as the vibrators 38, which vibrators may be connected by suitable flexible hoses (not shown) to a remote source of air under pressure. It is to be understood, of course, that in lieu of said pneumatic vibrator unit, a vibrator actuated hydraulically, electrically, or a motor-driven eccentric drive could be employed without departing from the spirit of the invention, and the invention is by no means to be limited in this respect. In the event electric power is used suitable electrified rail elements and pick-up shoes would be required in the discharge area, of course. In the preferred embodiment of the invention said vibrators 38 are designed to vibrate the bucket 18 at a frequency of several hundred cycles per minute.

As hereinabove mentioned, a stop is provided at the upper end of the track 23 to halt the travel of the skip car 14, and upwardly-curved track extension members 24 are provided adjacent the cupola charging opening 1 1, thus permitting the forward end of said car and charge bucket to be projected into said cupola opening and the car rearward portion pivoted or tilted upwardly about said stop member to a desired dumping angle, as shown in broken lines in the drawing.

In the illustrated embodiment of the present invention the skip car 14 and attached charge bucket 18 are conveyed from the loading area to their elevated discharge position by means of a flexible cable 27 secured to a power-driven drum-type winch 28 mounted on the supporting framework adjacent the upper portion of the cupola. Said cable 27 is trained about a sheave 29 mounted above the track extension 24, and is attached to the skip car 14 at a location adjacent the rear wheels 16, thus allowing the downward gravitational force to cause the car forward wheels 15 to freely follow the curved track as the car is pulled upwardly. When the loaded car reaches the upper end of the track and engages the stop member 25 the continued operation of said winch or hoist 28 forces the car rear wheels through a cut-out section of the track and upwardly in the arcuate track extensions 24 until the desired dumping angle has been reached. This angle can be varied as desired, depending upon the type of materials being charged, intended distribution of the materials within the cupola, etc., which is an entirely new innovation in the art and an important feature of the present invention.

In the preferred form of the present invention, as the rearward portion of the skip car and bucket unit is lifted into its predetermined discharge position it engages a limit switch which halts the operation of said power winch 28 and simultaneously actuates the vibrators 38, as well as an adjustable automatic reset timer operatively associated therewith. Upon the completion of the discharge cycle and the dumping of the bucket contents into the cupola, which discharge cycle is preset by said timer, the winch is automatically reenergized and the skip car and bucket lowered to the loading area to receive another charge. Although the downward travel of the skip car and bucket unit is by gravity, the speed of its descent is controlled by said winch and cable assembly.

in the operation of the improved charging apparatus comprising the invention, the bucket 18 carried by the skip car 14 is first positioned immediately beneath the discharge chute of a charge ingredient hopper or bin, and its associated weighing means, as for example the scrap metal hopper and scale assembly 31 illustrated in the drawing. A predetermined quantity of said charge materials is then dropped into said open-top bucket, which quantity is accurately weighed by scale means externally of and completely disassociated with said skip car and bucket unit. Any number of additional charge ingredient hopper and scale members may be similarly positioned above the track 23, depending upon the required composition and ingredients of the particular charge.

As hereinabove mentioned, unlike the charging apparatus disclosed in United States Pat. No. 3,087,633, with the present external weighing and simplified loading arrangement it is unnecessary to detach and then reassemble a portion of the skip car frame for weighing, thereby permitting the use of a less complex and expensive car and bucket assembly, as well as speeding the loading operation.

After the bucket 18 has been loaded with precisely the proper amounts of required charging ingredients, the drum-type winch unit 28 is energized to wind the cable 27 thereon and thereby draw said skip car upwardly on the inclined track 23. As hereinabove de scribed, when said car reaches the discharge station ad jacent the cupola charging opening 11 it engages and its upward travel is halted by a stop member and the continued operation of said winch functions to raise the rearward end of said car on the track upright extension 24 to a desired tilted dumping position, at which point the operation of said power-driven winch is automatically halted. In the latter position the forward end of the bucket 18 is projected through the opening 11 and substantially into the cupola interior, as illustrated. As mentioned, in accordance with the present invention said skip car and bucket unit can be tilted to any desired dumping angle by means of the winch and cable assembly, thereby permitting the bucket to be set at the angle best suited for the proper discharge of the particular charge components or ingredients being employed. Moreover, it has been found that said adjustable dumping angle can be utilized to obtain better distribution of the intermixed charge throughout the cupola cross-section, with the attendant advantages hereinbefore enumerated.

As the skip car and bucket unit reaches the upper end of the track and is tilted to its discharge position the vibrators 38 are simultaneously energized, as described, to impart a high speed vibrating motion to said bucket to completely evacuate the charge and direct the same into the cupola interior.

It has been found, as mentioned, that the tilting of the skip car and charge bucket during the discharge cycle in the present invention decreases the time required to empty said conveyance, in comparison to the apparatus disclosed in Pat. No. 3,087,633. In the latter apparatus the skip car is maintained in a horizontal plane during said discharge operation and depends entirely upon the vibratory motion imparted thereto to urge the charge out through the open forward end of the car and into the cupola, which can be a relatively time-consuming operation; The result is that with the present invention the discharge operation is faster and more efficient. ln addition, unlike the conventional, deep bucket-type chargers, a much smaller charging opening 11 in the cupola is required, thus minimizing heat loss and increasing the efficiency and economy of the metal melting operation. Moreover, and of primary importance, said smaller charging opening reduces the volume of infiltrated air through said opening and thereby reduces the load on subsequent emission control equipment while simultaneously reducing the degree of dilution of the furnace combustibles.

After its contents have been discharged into the cupola the skip car and bucket unit is returned to the loading area, as hereinabove described, and the entire charge-loading and discharge cycle can then be repeated. I

From the foregoing detailed description it will be seen that the present invention provides a new and unique vibratory type furnace charging apparatus which is an improvement not only over conventional bucket-type chargers, but which unit includes several important innovations and structural improvements over the vibratory charger disclosed in United States Pat. No. 3,087,633. For one thing, the present charger is more effective than said earlier patented apparatus for the reason that the novel unitary skip car and cliarge bucketemployed in the present assembly is adjustably tiltable to promote the discharge of its contents into the cupola, thereby conserving valuable time and increasing the efficiency of the discharge operation, as

well as reducing the power requirements of the particular type of vibrator apparatus employed with the bucket. Moreover, with the present invention it is not necessary to disengage a portion of the skip car frame in order to weigh the various charge ingredients, as in said prior apparatus, thus providing a unit which is considerably simpler in construction, in addition to speeding the loading operation.

One of the most critical improvements characterizing the present invention, of course, is that the size of the charge opening in the furnace wall can be substantially smaller than those required with conventional bottomopening type charging buckets. The most common method of foundry emission control is the use of a wet type venturi scrubber, and, in this respect, the efficiency of such equipment is primarily a function of the pressure drop obtained in the venturi and the fan horsepower required is basically in proportion to the volume of air handled. Under conditions of negative pressure at the charge door opening, large volumes of infiltrated air increase the fan horsepower requirements beyond an acceptable economic limit. This situation is substantially eliminated, of course, with the smaller charging opening (and consequent reduction of infiltrated air) featured in the present invention. Moreover, it has been found that despite the reduction in the door size, the unique vibratory charger featured in the present invention provides a good distribution pattern of the charge within the cupola which together with the re sulting reduction in charge density due to reduced impact of the charge on the material already in the cupola (as compared to bottom-opening buckets) results in excellent cupola operation.

A second adverse effect of large door openings and corresponding largevolume air infiltration, as hereinbefore mentioned, is the dilution of the combustible normally encountered in cupola exhaust gases. These combustibles are primarily in the form of carbonmonoxide (CO) in the range of 8 to 24 percent. Governmental agency emission control codes either presently, or will undoubtedly in the future, require their elimination, which can best be done by burning. Inasmuch as the ignition point is directly related to the percentage of combustibles within the total volume of gases present, the effect of excess infiltrated air through unnecessarily large charging openings is obvious.

A third advantage of the relatively small charge opening in the present invention is in the reduced threat of direct exhaust emission from the door proper into the foundry interior, which can be dangerous, of

course.

To summarize the foregoing advantages inherent in the present invention, the major improvements char-ac terizing the invention are as follows:

a. The suspension of the charge bucket from the skip car by means of coil springs which are under constant tension minimizes lateral forces on said bucket, with resulting reduction in spillage, regardless of the position of said skip car;

b. The novel five-sided design of the present bucket eliminates the necessity of a curved track at the charge position, thereby simplifying the evacuation of said bucket without danger of spilling;

c. The self-contained vibratory unit eliminates the necessity for a double discharge system;

d. The secondary curved track (or extension) at the discharge point allows accurate control of the discharge angle, said angular discharge permitting control of the speed and distribution of the discharge as well as allowing a reduction of the vibratory power requirements to a minimum; and

e. Due to the novel bucket design and suspension system the charge make-up can be discharged into the furnace in approximately the same order in which it was placed in the bucket.

It is to be understood that while one preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described herein, numerous variations or modifications thereof may occur to those having skill in this art and what is intended to be covered herein, therefore, is not only the form of said invention illustrated and described, but also any and all variations or modified forms thereof as may come within the spirit of said invention.

What we claim is:

1. An apparatus for introducing a charge into a metal melting furnace, comprising: an inclined track leading from a lower level loading area to a small charging opening in the upper portion of the furnace, said track including a pair of parallel rail members, a stop member at the upper end of said track; an upwardly projecting arcuate track extension adjacent the upper end'of said track; charge ingredient hopper means in the loading area positioned in alignment with and spaced above said track; weighing means associated with said charge hopper means; a skip car having front and rear wheels adapted to ride in said track; an open top, five-sided charge bucket with a forwardly and upwardly inclined front wall suspended from said skip car by tensioned coil springs on opposite sides thereof, said skip car and bucket unit being adapted to be positioned beneath said hopper means and to have the charge ingredients deposited in said bucket after said charge ingredients have been weighed externally thereof; a poweractuated mechanical vibrator mounted on said skip car and bucket unit; a power operated drum-type winch; a cable secured to said winch, said cable being trained about a sheave mounted above the upper end of said track and attached to the rearward portion of said skip car and bucket unit whereby after said bucket has been loaded with a charge of predetermined weight said winch can be actuated to draw said skip car and bucket unit up said incined track to a point where said unit engages said stop member with the forward end of said skip car and bucket unit projecting through said furnace charging opening, the continued operation of said winch raising the rearward portion of said unit within said upwardly projecting track extension to tilt said bucket and cause its contents to be discharged into the furnace in approximately the same order in which said charge constituents were deposited in said bucket; limit switch means engageable by said skip car and bucket unit when it is in said tilted, discharge position adapted to halt the operation of said winch and to automatically actuate said vibrator to promote the discharge of said charge into the furnace; and an adjustable automatic reset timer adapted to be actuated by said skip car and bucket unit when the latter is in its discharge position, said timer being designed to automatically halt the operation of said vibrator after a predetermined time period sufficient to ensure the evacuation of the charge from said bucket and to re-energize said winch to permit the controlled descent of the empty skip car and bucket unit to the loading area.

2. An apparatus for introducing a charge into a metal melting furnace comprising: an inclined track leading from a lower level loading area to a small charging opening in the upper portion of the furnace, said track including a pair of parallel rail members; a stop member at the upper end of said track; an upwardly projecting track extension adjacent the upper end of said track; charge ingredient hopper means in the loading area positioned in alignment with and spaced above said track; weighing means associated with said charge hopper means; a skip car having front and rear wheels riding in said track; an open-top charging bucket with a forwardly and upwardly inclined front wall suspended from said skip car by tensioned coil springs on opposite sides thereof, said skip car and bucket unit being positionable beneath said hopper means to have the charge ingredients deposited in the bucket after the charge ingredients have been weighed externally thereof; a power-operated winch; a cable secured to said winch and trained about a sheave mounted above the upper end of the track and attached to the rearward portion of the skip car and bucket unit whereby, after said bucket has been loaded with a charge of predetermined weight, said winch can be actuated to draw said skip car and bucket unit up said inclined track to a point where said unit engages said stop member, the latter being so located that when it is engaged, the forward end of the bucket projects through said furnace charging opening, continued operation of said winch then raising the rearward portion of said unit within said upwardly projecting track extension to tilt said bucket and bring its front wall to a downwardly inclined position and cause its contents to be discharged down said front wall into the furnace in approximately the same order in which the charge constituents were deposited in said bucket; and a vibrator mounted on said bucket for aiding said discharge.

3. An apparatus for introducing a charge into a metal melting furnace comprising: an inclined track leading from a lower level loading area to a small charging opening in a side wall in the upper portion of the furnace, said track including a pair of parallel rail members; charge ingredient hopper means in the loading area positioned in alignment with and spaced above said track; a skip car having front and rear wheels riding in said track; a charging bucket having a bottom wall and having a front wall extending angularly upwardly from the front of said bottom wall, and there being side walls having upper edges which are in converging relationship with respect to said front wall to provide a front spout portion; coil springs pivotally suspended from said skip car having lower ends connected to said bucket, the springs being so located that the bucket is suspended by said springs in a position beneath said track while the springs are under tension, and the springs being so located that said spout portion of the bucket projects forwardly from the forwardmost springs, siad skip car and bucket unit being adapted to be positioned beneath said hopper means and to have the charge ingredients deposited in said bucket while the bucket is suspended from said skip car; a poweroperated winch; a cable secured to said winch and having a portion trained about a sheave mounted above the upper end of said track and attached to the rearward portion of the skip car and bucket unit whereby, after bucket to bring said front wall into a downwardlyinclined position; and vibrator means on said bucket for aiding discharge of the bucket contents down said inclined front wall and into the furnace. 

1. An apparatus for introducing a charge into a metal melting furnace, comprising: an inclined track leading from a lower level loading area to a small charging opening in the upper portion of the furnace, said track including a pair of parallel rail members, a stop member at the upper end of said track; an upwardly projecting arcuate track extension adjacent the upper end of said track; charge ingredient hopper means in the loading area positioned in alignment with and spaced above said track; weighing means associated with said charge hopper means; a skip car having front and rear wheels adapted to ride in said track; an open top, five-sided charge bucket with a forwardly and upwardly inclined front wall suspended from said skip car by tensioned coil springs on opposite sides thereof, said skip car and bucket unit being adapted to be positioned beneath said hopper means and to have the charge ingredients deposited in said bucket after said charge ingredients have been weighed externally thereof; a power-actuated mechanical vibrator mounted on said skip car and bucket unit; a power operated drum-type winch; a cable secured to said winch, said cable being trained about a sheave mounted above the upper end of said track and attached to the rearward portion of said skip car and bucket unit whereby after said bucket has been loaded with a charge of predetermined weight said winch can be actuated to draw said skip car and bucket unit up said incined track to a point where said unit engages said stop member with the forward end of said skip car and bucket unit projecting through said furnace charging opening, the continued operation of said winch raising the rearward portion of said unit within said upwardly projecting track extension to tilt said bucket and cause its contents to be discharged into the furnace in approximately the same order in which said charge constituents were deposited in said bucket; limit switch means engageable by said skip car and bucket unit when it is in said tilted, discharge position adapted to halt the operation of said winch and to automatically actuate said vibrator to promote the discharge of said charge into the furnace; and an adjustable automatic reset timer adapted to be actuated by said skip car and bucket unit when the latter is in its discharge position, said timer being designed to automatically halt the operation of said vibrator after A predetermined time period sufficient to ensure the evacuation of the charge from said bucket and to re-energize said winch to permit the controlled descent of the empty skip car and bucket unit to the loading area.
 2. An apparatus for introducing a charge into a metal melting furnace comprising: an inclined track leading from a lower level loading area to a small charging opening in the upper portion of the furnace, said track including a pair of parallel rail members; a stop member at the upper end of said track; an upwardly projecting track extension adjacent the upper end of said track; charge ingredient hopper means in the loading area positioned in alignment with and spaced above said track; weighing means associated with said charge hopper means; a skip car having front and rear wheels riding in said track; an open-top charging bucket with a forwardly and upwardly inclined front wall suspended from said skip car by tensioned coil springs on opposite sides thereof, said skip car and bucket unit being positionable beneath said hopper means to have the charge ingredients deposited in the bucket after the charge ingredients have been weighed externally thereof; a power-operated winch; a cable secured to said winch and trained about a sheave mounted above the upper end of the track and attached to the rearward portion of the skip car and bucket unit whereby, after said bucket has been loaded with a charge of predetermined weight, said winch can be actuated to draw said skip car and bucket unit up said inclined track to a point where said unit engages said stop member, the latter being so located that when it is engaged, the forward end of the bucket projects through said furnace charging opening, continued operation of said winch then raising the rearward portion of said unit within said upwardly projecting track extension to tilt said bucket and bring its front wall to a downwardly inclined position and cause its contents to be discharged down said front wall into the furnace in approximately the same order in which the charge constituents were deposited in said bucket; and a vibrator mounted on said bucket for aiding said discharge.
 3. An apparatus for introducing a charge into a metal melting furnace comprising: an inclined track leading from a lower level loading area to a small charging opening in a side wall in the upper portion of the furnace, said track including a pair of parallel rail members; charge ingredient hopper means in the loading area positioned in alignment with and spaced above said track; a skip car having front and rear wheels riding in said track; a charging bucket having a bottom wall and having a front wall extending angularly upwardly from the front of said bottom wall, and there being side walls having upper edges which are in converging relationship with respect to said front wall to provide a front spout portion; coil springs pivotally suspended from said skip car having lower ends connected to said bucket, the springs being so located that the bucket is suspended by said springs in a position beneath said track while the springs are under tension, and the springs being so located that said spout portion of the bucket projects forwardly from the forwardmost springs, siad skip car and bucket unit being adapted to be positioned beneath said hopper means and to have the charge ingredients deposited in said bucket while the bucket is suspended from said skip car; a power-operated winch; a cable secured to said winch and having a portion trained about a sheave mounted above the upper end of said track and attached to the rearward portion of the skip car and bucket unit whereby, after said bucket has been loaded with a charge, said winch can be actuated to draw said skip car and bucket unit up said inclined track to a point where said spout portion projects into said side wall charging opening of the furnace; means at the upper end of said track for causing tilting of the skip car and consequent tilting of the bucket to bring said front wall Into a downwardly-inclined position; and vibrator means on said bucket for aiding discharge of the bucket contents down said inclined front wall and into the furnace. 